Portrait Photography

My Estonian grandfather, Viktor Kollin, was a man shaped by the hardships of his time—a distant and quiet figure to us, his grandchildren. I never really got to know him; he always kept to himself. Like so many men of his generation, he was forced to give up on his dreams, swept along by the collective madness of the era. But he didn’t take the easy way out. He held onto his integrity, even though it meant sacrificing his own aspirations.

In his own quiet ways, he rebelled. He became a journalist for a small regional newspaper because he yearned to write, to tell stories, and to photograph—even though back then it meant working under draconian censorship, feeding into the wide-open mouth of propaganda. But all his spare time was devoted to questioning and resisting the oppressive regime by creating beauty, something so absent from the harsh movements of his time.

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Left: My grandpa around 1950
Right: Blooming buckwheat on film 2021

This morning, I had a long brainstorming session with the Documentary Photography Museum in Tallinn, Estonia, preparing for my upcoming exhibition in August. We spoke so much about my grandfather that my longing to create a project about him and my home country is becoming overconsuming. When I visited Estonia in 2021, I shot mostly on film—it felt like the right approach for a place where time still moves more slowly. I had an innate urge to simplify, to slow down.

Now, I’m pulling every string possible to spend two months there this summer, giving myself the space to sink deeper into the mood, flow, and poetry of this Nordic terrain and its quiet yet warm people.

A female stork on a stormy afternoon
2021 I Estonia

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Base

GM to all based friends! Happy Friday all 💙

Parenting

My mom gave me a lot lectures on relationships and human nature growing up.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized how based my mom is. Shout out to my moms

Chicago’s architecture is iconic and inspiring.

Found a new tool for 3D modeling. Very impressed!

Enjoyed a peaceful evening sketching new ideas.

Gen Art

~ Mono Monday ~
 
Self. 
Generative guided, seeded from a photograph, pen plotted with a BIC ballpoint pen on 200g A4 Fabriano paper.

Reflecting on the importance of green spaces in urban areas.

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Just got a new bike. Ready to explore the city!

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Sharing urban design ideas at a local workshop next week.

Gate of Degen

Discovered a new bakery in Chicago. Highly recommend!

SuperRare

Gm!! 🌤️
Enjoy a fantastic Friday Everyone!! 🔥

Any fellow architects here? What’s your biggest design challenge?

ArtistKiri

@artist-kiri